David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.

27 September 2017

PANEL

ZOMBIE ART HISTORY

1.30PM SAT 30 SEP 2017 GOMA | CINEMA B | FREE

Join Dr Amelia Barikin, Lecturer in Art History, School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland, and special guests as they use the Australian collection rehang as a launching point for exploring alternative approaches to displaying and conceptualising Australian art, drawing upon the non-chronological hang as a focal point for thinking about broader questions of chronoLOGOS/HA HA in museoLOGOS/HA HA.

Panellists include:

Michael Aird, Adjunct Associate Lecturer and Research Fellow, School of Social Science, University of Queensland

Dr Rex Butler, Professor (Art History & Theory), Monash University

Dr Kyla McFarlane, Acting Curatorial Manager, Australian Art, QAGOMA

. . . .

Perhaps the panel will attempt an explanation for the macabre pictorial instability* of the recently unearthed Tom Roberts self-portrait 'Rejection'.

20 September 2017

Letters of John Keats to His Family and Friends, by John Keats

[Fragment (Outside Sheet) Of A Letter Addressed To Bailey At St. Andrews. Winchester, August 15, 1819.

I am convinced more and more every day that (excepting the human friend Philosopher), a fine writer is the most genuine Being in the World. Shakspeare and the paradise Lost every day become greater wonders to me. I look upon fine Phrases like a Lover.

slag off

Verb

To purify by melting and removingslag.There is a lot of copper oxide, but I can remove that by melting everything and slagging it off.

After the launch of After Words at City Recital Hall, Paul Keating launched (into) the Balmain basket weavers.

"The man who talked about the recession we had to have (and sent some fraction of the middle class to the wall) was hated and feared by one part of the Australian electorate and adored by another. Former Hawke government minister John Button once said you could track the stretch of Australian politics with Keating's one-liners. Remember the banana republic and the arse end of the universe?

Keating's tough charm carried him the longest distance with the constituency that adored him, the chatterati he described as "the basket weavers of Balmain". When he declared, "Mate, if you live in Australia and you don't live in Sydney, you're just camping out", we laughed at the sheer insolent wit of the man, however secure we thought we were in our Melbourne houses.

He was one of the greatest talkers in the history of Australian politics. Part of what gave him the right to put his signature on the reformist government that carried Australia into the harder but more profitable world of the open marketplace was that as treasurer and then prime minister he gave a new politics, a tough economically liberal one, all the vernacular charm of an old and familiar larrikinism. "He's got a front on him as big as Mark Foys," he'd say. Or, addressing the question of a politician's privacy, "Mate, we can't even shit in the ocean."

The correlative of that street fighter's charm (which could also be extraordinarily powerful in the negative mode) was that Keating knew how to ice the cake. He gave the basket weavers Mabo; he gave them, as no one else could, the dream of the republic.

He was, in any case, a man of the word more than a man of the book." ...

09 September 2017

We loved the Tiger Cheer Squad's Theatre of the Actors of Regard meta-banner at the MCG last night. In the presence of 95,000 footy fans, their Tigers run-through banner acknowledged the Yellow + Black barrackers of the ages.

Kimi Burke Fantastic game boys! That tiger roar was phenomenal, lost voice, tears of absolute joy!
Linda Nelson Really cool banner Robyn Katie
Lynne Ramadge Well done Richmond fans ,you made the game more exciting to watch banner was brilliant roar in 2017

Jill Robertson Love the banner
Brendan Smith The best banner all season well done. If that wouldn't get your team going nothing would great team
Leanne Cadman Rhonda Cadman, cool banner!

Carol Grinsted How good is this banner !!
Paul Haviaridis Best banner. Best song. Best jumper. Two games away from being the best team. But win, lose or draw they always the best team for me
Margaret Polan That banner bought me to tears... fantastic job cheer squad...very emotional